Page 88 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

“Anyone would have.”

“I love that you’re the kind of person who thinks that, but it’s not true at all. Most people wouldn’t.”

“I didn’t do much.”

“You killed the wraith,” I reminded him. “You got justice for Lee and Lisa and their daughter. You stopped it from hurting anyone else. You did that, when no one else could. Even though you didn’t take any pleasure from it, you still did it.” I paused, then flashed him a grin. “Plus, you totally kicked Michael’s ass. And if anyone ever needed his ass kicked, it’s that guy.”

I went on, “And speaking of, you could have let the hunters die when we were at the house. It wouldn’t have even been their blood on your hands. But you knew exactly what they were capable of, and even though you were afraid of them, you still insisted that we go out of our way to rescue them. And then you helped save Annie’s life, with no questions asked. You didn’t wonder what was in it for you or balk at the idea of giving up some of your blood, even though you hadn’t fed properly in however long—weeks, probably. And you still did all that, even though you understood that it might have meant putting yourself in the path of a potentially angry spirit.”

At the mention of Teresa, Bryan lost his smile, his expression going more thoughtful.

But he didn’t interrupt.

“You’re kind. You’re compassionate. You’re brave. And you were totally planning on tearing that factory apart to save me. So, if you put all that together… well, it means that you’re kind of a badass,” I continued, meaning every single word. “And maybe you’re not ‘fixed,’ whatever that means, but maybe I don’t need you to be. Maybe I just need you to be you. I think I just need you to always be whatever you are, and that will be more than enough.”

When I had finished, he pulled me down for a kiss.

“There’s one more thing we need to do,” Bryan said, when he pulled back.

“What’s that?”

“I need to face Teresa Dames and convince her to leave me alone, once and for all. I don’t want to start our life with her haunting me. I won’t do that to either one of us.” He paused, frowning, his expression becoming thoughtful again. “And…well, this situation isn’t really fair to her, either, I guess. I need to let her say whatever she needs to say. I need to help her let go, if I can.”

I didn’t tell him that it was Teresa Dames who had shown up and broken the binding circle the hunters had me in earlier. She was the reason he was still alive in the first place. If she hadn’t manifested and helped me when she did, Michael would have driven a wooden stake through Bryan’s heart and I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. I tried not to think too hard on that, or else I’d want to go and punch Michael in the face all over again.

But I strongly doubted that Teresa intended to exact vengeance on Bryan. Though, I suspected that Teresa would tell him that herself, soon enough.

“Okay,” I told him, meeting his gaze. He looked scared but determined. “I’ll help you make peace with Teresa Dames. And then I’m totally getting into your pants.”

Bryan’s lips twitched at that. Even though his eyes were filled with apprehension, a moment later, his amusement won out over his fears and he smiled. “Yeah, okay. It gives me something to look forward to. We just need to do this one last thing first.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE || BRYAN

Teresa was already waiting for me when Tobias and I stepped into the spirit world.

Her expression was somber when she met my gaze. Hello, Bryan.

Hi, I greeted her, feeling fear and shame wash over me. Look, I’m sorry. I don’t want to make this about me. I know you have things you want to say, but I need you to know that I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you—or anyone.

I hated you, you know, Teresa told me. For weeks, after you killed me. I followed you everywhere, determined to make you feel the pain and horror of my death. I wanted vengeance.

I know, I said, her words sliding underneath my skin and freezing in place.

No. You don’t know, Teresa said, shaking her head. Because I eventually began to realize that you weren’t—well, you weren’t a person at all, really—when you harmed me or any of the others. I couldn’t understand it, at first. It didn’t make sense. But after each of your kills, I watched you find dark and hidden places, far away from any other person, and then you… you shut down. Until it was time for the next victim. You were entirely motionless, sometimes for weeks at a time. Your eyes were open, so you weren’t really asleep, but you weren’t awake either. You were vacant.

I shuddered with fresh horror at her words. I didn’t remember that part at all. The only thing I remembered was the hurt I had caused. Everything from between those awful memories was simply… blank. It was just darkness.

When I put together that you were acting under a spell, I realized that you were a victim, just as much as I or any of the others.

If I could have just stopped myself—

You couldn’t have, Teresa told me, her voice flat. I’ve never seen spells like that before and I had been a practicing witch all my life. And, as much as I would like to be able to hate you for taking me away from the people I love, I can’t. Because it was never your fault.

She paused, then added, It was your courage, even with knowing what might happen to you as a result of turning yourself in, that helped to save countless lives from bloodshed and darkness. Including many of the people I loved most in life.

I don’t understand—if all that is true, then why were you haunting me?

I was trying to reach out to you. I watched you shutting everything out. I watched you run from the people you loved. I watched you place yourself in danger. And every time you did, I knew that Giles was winning. You would have been his last victim. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Not if I could have stopped it.

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